You Can’t Be Pro-Jobs Without Being Pro-Trade

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a likely 2020 presidential contender, recently laid out her vision for foreign policy in a speech at American University and an essay in Foreign Affairs. The Massachusetts Democrat was highly critical of traditional U.S. trade policy. She writes that the trade deals negotiated by leaders of both political parties “mainly lifted the boats of the wealthy while leaving millions of working Americans to drown.” Her conclusion: “Policymakers were willing to sacrifice American jobs in hopes of lowering prices for consumer goods at home and spreading open markets abroad.” Supporters of free trade would disagree with this characterization, of course. But they might agree that among the main benefits of trade are, as the senator says, lower-priced goods in U.S. stores and new markets around the world for American business. Read more here